SCOTLAND IN BUSINESS

On 27  May we celebrated our First Anniversary of Scotland in Business - subject of the event was:

Pan European Networking under the banner of the European SME Week 2010

The event took place under the banner of the European SME Week 2010 simultaneously with our partners in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.

This was an opportunity for Scottish entrepreneurs to link with businesses in Europe through live video conferencing, share ideas, best practice to help businesses progress, synergy and import/export plus make connections face to face as can be over a live virtual connection. An ideal way to grasp opportunities available immediately or to consider joint ventures with partners met.  A bit like a cost saving trade fair rather than going to all the expense, on a limited budget, why not meet this way and then consider the expense of going over and meeting.

Certainly an unknown quantity for all of us as we had no experience of doing multi-video conferencing simultaneously over the internet. 

Dougal Perman and his team from Inner Ear were hired to work out  all the technicalities of connecting with the countries during a live webcast(?) - a bit like Eurovision without the 'nul point'.  They did a great job and the transitions went smoothly plus thank goodness there was no lose of picture or frozenness during the event - which had been a worry.  Excerpts of the event will be put on the website once they are ready.

Each country gave presentations from a diverse range of sectors which were interesting and showed the enthusiasm of the companies in not only pitching their wares but wanting to do business with companies abroad.

I would like to thank Timea (Hungary), Tessa (Poland) and Irena (Slovenia) for doing the hard slog in their countries and finding partners who were willing to be the first test cases in this event.  Not an easy task believe me as I did the same here.

This was our first international live event and we learnt quite a lot from it.  Such as ask the  presenters, who did a very good job, to just give us a basic outline of what they do - speednetworking may be the way forward, make more use of tweetdeck (have noted to try and work out how to download it onto my blackberry for the next event - eeks), use a camera that can be moved to show the room and who is in it, so there is a better feel and visual of who is attending.  Face to Face is still king when it comes to networking.  Use a compere to introduce the next person - will definitely do this going forward even though I did not want to be anywhere on the camera - sigh.

All in all the event went well.

Once we receive feedback both negative and positive we will definitely use this to improve our events as we are a bottom-up organisation rather than top-down.  Live, Learn and Go Forward.

Going forward -  if you are looking to expand your business or network and like the idea of working with companies abroad or are looking for import / export opportunities etc then WATCH THIS SPACE.

Once the video of the event has been edited and best bits put together it will be available on the website.  To see the companies who took part and attendees please click here.

Our vision is to build areas of national and international demographic support among businesses with complimentary resources and knowledge. Our members come from diverse sectors of industry whether small businesses or large and in between,.

Scotland offers a highly skilled, entrepreneurial and flexible workforce.  Its infrastructure and established supply base make it easy to do business here, while its universities and research centres have a world-class reputation for innovation.  Scots also have a world-class reputation for business and financial expertise.

Scotland also has : -
* A good supply of suitable premises in all parts of the country
* A reliable telecommunications infrastructure and
* An educated and skilled workforce

Scotland in Business offers companies and organisations to network and gain access to the expertise of its entreprenurial  members to help your business succeed through it's network of members not only in Scotland but throughout the UK.

Scotland in Business  is a business group which meets either the second or third Thursday of the month @ The Hub, Pacific Quay, Glasgow.  All our events are available on our events page.  During each meeting we encourage our members to take up a 5 minute pitch - three available per event. This provides an ideal platform to get to know a particular business also to hone in one's presentation skills in a relaxing familiar atmosphere.  Most events have workshops to enhance and develop business skills.  

Our members come from diverse sectors of industry both nationally and internationally.  Members benefit form free attendance to all workshops and events, marketing opportunities for their business, having their business listed in our business directory.  Check out our membership page and find out how cost effective it is to join.

19 May 2010 - Edinburgh, UK:  TPP Global Development secures £9.6M for future drug candidate development

TPP Global Development (TPP), an innovative drug development company, announced today it has raised £9.6m which will be used to execute the Company’s strategy to develop early-stage pre-clinical drug candidates.

TPP has raised funds from a select group of investors, including the Scottish Venture Fund. TPP will be using the funds to build shareholder value by developing a diversified portfolio of drug programmes.  more

Testimonial

28 May 2010 - "there has been a real need for a focused pan European networking event in Scotland for sometime. Excellent presentations and extremely well organised....I made great new connections and picked up some great business opportunities .....I would highly recommend anyone thinking of attending the next SIBS event to get involved."   Martin Craghill, Director, Seko Synergy

Thanks to the kindness of Donny McKinnon of The Hub we have a new home for our events here in Glasgow.  We will be based at The Hub, in Pacific Quay.  A lovely new purpose built media building to the left of the BBC building.  

The Hub offers workspaces and suites from 127 to 43,500 ft ².  It offers all the basics of modern business - power, access to broadband/internet connectivity, high specification and functional space and the ability to occupy within a matter of days.

They offer flexibility without having to worry about long term, locked in commitments - offer short and long term leases on a flexible basis, with a three month notice period; and if a company  needs more space on short notice, they are there for you.

If a company needs  somewhere to work for a month, a week, a couple of days, or even just for an important meeting - so, the make it easy for you to take space in The Hub for very short periods indeed.

And they make you feel that you're in safe hands - with a management team who really know how to take care of creative people,  along with 24 hour security to match the 24/7 access  to The Hub.